Anonymous wrote:I think first trimester is really hard to work through. I was exhausted and yes, the hormones impact your mood a lot. Especially with the first pregnancy, there's also some mental overwhelm -- I remember spending my lunch hour researching and figuring out who my OB would be, starting to make lists of stuff we needed to do before the baby came, etc., and pivoting from that back to work was often hard. With subsequent kids you don't have to do all of that and the early part of your pregnancy is way less disruptive.
Do NOT make big decisions about leaving your job or becoming a SAHM right now. Just get through it. Later in the second and third trimester are usually a bit easier (not quite so tired and your body will have acclimated to the hormones) and also once you start telling people and showing, it becomes more real and this actually reduces the mental load as certain things fall into place (childcare, the exact details of your leave, prepping the house, etc.).
I say all this as someone who did in fact decide to leave my job and stay home for a couple years after my first baby. That was the right decision for me, but 15 weeks is not the time to make that decision. Unless the plan all along has been for you to quit and stay home, don't make a choice like that now when your are still physically acclimating to pregnancy and the whole thing is a secret.
Thank you so much for this! Yes the first trimester was the worst and I’m finally feeling much better now.
I’ve never thought about leaving my job and I actually like having a routine. It’s just the mental part that’s getting to me. I think I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be a mom very soon, so maybe that’s why! Like you said, once I start showing more and when people start to notice, I think that’s when it’s going be more real and hopefully easier.